NC: FMLA for small co. less than 50 employess

NC: FMLA for small co. less than 50 employess

I have read elsewhere that even though a small co. that has less than 50 employees, is basically 'exempt' from FMLA ....they may have to adhere to other rules and laws for that state. I have looked and looked and can not seem to find any more info. on this subject. Does anyone know esp. for N.C.? Thanks

Re: NC: FMLA for small co. less than 50 employess

Yes to have to comply with FMLA laws an employer must have 50 employees in a 75 mile radius. Some states extend that law and lower the number of employees or otherwise extend the benefit in other ways. Unfortunately North Carolina is not one of those states. North Carolina follows the standard FMLA law for its residents. Your company must have the 50 employees in the 75 mile radius and you must have been employed one year and worked at least 1250 hours in that year.

Re: NC: FMLA for small co. less than 50 employess

my child was hospitalized for 1 mo. and it was a very serious illness. we were in several hospitals all over the u.s. during that time i asked my employer what i needed to do: take unpaid leave; utilize fmla; or work out an arrangement and pay back that time off out of each paycheck....i was willing to do whatever was appropriate. it was blown off and not addressed until i got back. i was told that would count from vacation time and if any additional days were taken after the fact, it would be unpaid time off. fair enough, but when i asked for 1 unpaid day off for a long weekend away, i was told absolutely not.....not a single day would be taken the rest of the year. this occured at the beginning of the year so i am not sure if how this is being handled is correct? i looked up fmla rules and saw that a co. must have over 50 employees and this co. is smaller. thx

Re: NC: FMLA for small co. less than 50 employess

Since your company is too small to have to comply with FMLA they are not required to give you the time off. Some small employers opt to extend FMLA benefits to their employees even if they are not legally required to do so. Yours is not one of them unfortunately.

sks1:

but when i asked for 1 unpaid day off for a long weekend away, i was told absolutely not.....not a single day would be taken the rest of the year. this occured at the beginning of the year so i am not sure if how this is being handled is correct?

Unfortunately it is legal. While they could count it as FMLA they do not legally have to due to the size of the company. While they have been generous to give you the unpaid time off up until now, legally they are not required to extend any more time or hold your job for you.

Hopefully you will not need to take any more time or will be able to make other arrangements.

Re: NC: FMLA for small co. less than 50 employess

If FMLA does not apply, then the employer likely is free to have its own policies. It sounds as if the employer may have advanced you leave and you now have no more leave on the books that you can use.

The employer does not have to grant an unpaid day off for personal reasons.

Yeah, I like long weekends as well. I submitted my request for the first of July back in March of this year.

Re: NC: FMLA for small co. less than 50 employess

Even if your company had been subject to FMLA requirements (which yours isn't), it still would have been legal for the company to deny a request for a long weekend away. Even if you had months of vacation or other PTO stored up, the employer can still decide whether or not to permit taking the hours at a requested time.

Re: NC: FMLA for small co. less than 50 employess

The eligibilty requirements for FMLA are set by Federal law. An employer, or employee, who does not qualify for FMLA can, if the company chooses to, provide medical leave but it will NOT be FMLA leave and does not come with FMLA protections. If the employer, or employee, later does become eligible for FMLA, NONE of the time previously taken can be deducted from the FMLA allotment.

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